Court pulls up Tihar Jail for letting in mobile phones

Taking serious view of the fact that mobile phones are being used by inmates in the high security Tihar Jail, the Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the authorities to seize all the instruments within three days.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Madan B. Lokur directed Director General of Tihar Prison B.K. Gupta to seize all the mobile phones within three days.

‘It is a shocking state of affairs pertaining to the use of mobile phones in jails despite CCTV cameras,’ the court said.

‘Why are you (Tihar) not relying on your rules and regulations?’ the bench asked.

The court was hearing a suo moto cognizance of a letter written by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja in 2009 on the use of mobile phones inside Tihar Jail.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction over the reply of DG (Prisons) that the jammers are installed in the jail premises. ‘It is just a curative measure and not a preventive measure,’ the court said.

‘This shows that the jammer is not effective in the entire jail premises,’ the court said while disposing of the case.

Last year at least nine mobile phones and 11 SIM cards were found inside Tihar Jail.

The mobile phone is one of the articles listed as prohibited to be taken inside prisons.

According to the Prisons Act of 1894, any person found possessing a prohibited item inside the jail is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or fine not exceeding Rs.200 or both.